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Get rid of One Way streets in Willo
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Get rid of One Way streets in Willo
One way streets in Willo make streets less safe for residents
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I live in Willo and both 3rd and 5th Avenue are one way streets. 3rd Ave goes Northbound, 5th Ave goes Southbound. I imagine the reason for this set up is to help people more quickly travel in and out of Downtown. This of course is a terrible reason to do anything, if people want to live far from their jobs, they can have a commute.

The one way streets in Willo entice people to speed as there is no oncoming traffic. It also forces the neighborhood to carry an undue amount of traffic in the mornings and evenings.

Worst of all many people aren't expecting one way streets in this area of town. I can't tell you how often I see people driving the wrong way on these one ways. I've even twice seen Police cruisers going the wrong way and as I frantically try to wave at them they eventually figure it out (why can't I give them a ticket? Hmm).

Additionally both 3rd and 5th Ave's are very wide, which in addition to the streets being one way, encourages speeding. Both streets have speed bumps and traffic roundabouts, but those don't address the root cause of the bad traffic habits in Willo.

Lets turn 3rd and 5th back into neighborhood streets, each going two ways. That would also free up space for additionally bike lanes going the opposite direction on each street.

2 Comments
  • David B45

    by David B45 This would definitely improve bicycling infrastructure. Right now, southbound bicyclists on 3rd Ave must navigate Thomas Road over to 5th Avenue if they are traveling to points below St. Joseph's. Making 3rd Ave two-way south of Thomas would eliminate this dangerous maneuver.

    Sep 04, 2012 at 7:09 PM  
  • Will Novak

    by Will Novak I often bike home from work via 3rd Ave going South, and I just say " it" and bicycle backwards on 3rd Ave. There's really not enough traffic for me to feel like its dangerous and if other bikes come I can dip into the usually empty parallel parking area. But like you said, dealing with Thomas is a pain and while my maneuver is illegal it feels safer and is certainly quicker.

    Sep 04, 2012 at 7:43 PM  

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